Court: Principal isn’t liable for dog attack at schoolyard

TRENTON – A Buena Regional School District principal was found not to be responsible for injuries sustained by a woman in a dog attack after hours on school grounds, the state Supreme Court announced Wednesday.

The court’s unanimous decision may set a precedent for school principals and their apparent duty to protect third parties crossing through school grounds after a school day is over.

The decision stems from an incident in 2009 when Buena resident Charlotte Robinson walked through the yard of Cleary Elementary School, in the borough’s Minotola section, after school hours and was attacked by a stray dog.

Robinson had used the schoolyard as a shortcut to walk from her home to a nearby diner, according to her statement. As she crossed the yard, she was attacked by a dog known by local residents to be aggressive, whose owner routinely kept it chained to a tree.

Robinson filed a complaint against the school’s principal, Kenneth S. Nelson, as well as the Buena Regional School District Board of Education, seeking damages for the injuries she sustained.

Nelson was not on the premises at the time of the dog attack, he stated, and no school functions occurred that day, which was a Saturday.

But Robinson contended Nelson was still aware of the threat posed by the dog, and thus was responsible for the safety of people on the school premises at all hours.

The defendants argued that Nelson was not responsible for events that occurred on school properties after hours and from an animal they did not own or control.

The court ultimately agreed with the defendants, finding that while New Jersey law permits a public entity to be held liable for a dangerous condition of public property, the law does not extend to injuries that occur because of activities conducted on the property after hours.